NEW YORK –
A third panel of potential jurors will be questioned Friday in the Donald Trump case to maintain their silence, bringing jury selection closer to completion in the first criminal trial against a former US president.
After a jury of 12 New Yorkers met Thursday, lawyers are now expected to turn their attention to choosing alternates who can promise to set aside their personal views and try the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Thursday’s court proceedings demonstrated unpredictability in the jury selection process for such a high-profile case, with two jurors who had been assembled the day before being dismissed from the panel.
The judge has suggested that opening statements in the criminal trial could begin as early as Monday, before prosecutors begin making their case alleging a scheme to cover up negative stories that Trump feared would harm his 2016 presidential campaign.
The trial will put Trump in a Manhattan courtroom for weeks, forcing him to juggle his dual role as a criminal defendant and political candidate against the backdrop of his tight race against President Joe Biden. He will have lewd and unflattering testimony that his opponent will no doubt exploit to try to portray Trump as unfit to return as commander in chief.
After arriving at court on Friday, Trump criticized the judge’s gag order that limits what he can say publicly about witnesses. He has lashed out on social media against the judge, prosecutors and potential witnesses, prompting district attorneys to seek sanctions for possible violations of the gag order.
“The gag order has to be lifted. People are allowed to talk about me and I have a gag order,” Trump said.
Judge Juan M. Merchán is also expected to hold a hearing Friday to consider a request by prosecutors to bring up Trump’s previous legal entanglements if he takes the stand in the hush money case. Manhattan prosecutors have said they want to question Trump about his recent civil fraud trial that resulted in a $454 million judgment after a judge found Trump had lied about his wealth for years. He is appealing that verdict.
Trump says he did nothing wrong and has portrayed himself as a victim of a politically motivated justice system determined to keep him out of the White House.
The jury of New Yorkers includes a sales professional, a software engineer, a security engineer, an English teacher, a speech therapist, several lawyers, an investment banker and a retired wealth manager.
The trial centers on a $130,000 payment that Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer, made to porn actress Stormy Daniels to prevent her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump from becoming public in the final days of the race. of 2016.
Prosecutors say Trump concealed the true nature of the payments in internal records when his company reimbursed Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 and is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution.
Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels and his lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He could receive up to four years in prison if he is convicted, although it is unclear whether the judge would choose to put him behind bars. Trump will almost certainly appeal any conviction.
Trump faces four criminal cases, but it is unclear whether others will come to trial before the November election. Appeals and legal disputes have caused delays in the other three cases accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election and illegally hoarding classified documents.
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Richer reported from Washington.